Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a new, novel and useful folding cup that fits in a cup holder. This invention relates to folding cups and especially to cups that fit into cup holders, such as those that are built into automobiles, and the like. Conical, scoop-type cups are well known in the art. Reference can be made to any of the U.S. Pat. No. 4,185,764 to Cote, U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,097 to Christensson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,267,955 to Struble, U.S. Pat. No. 4,410,129 to Wisclowson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,595 to Jones, U.S. Pat. No. 4,792,086 to Chen et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,879 to Liu et al. as representative prior art.
Although several of these patents disclose a flat, folded, and expandable carton for storing dry food products, none are designed to be held within a cup holder, commonly found in today""s motor vehicles. There is presently a need for a paperboard type container that fits within a cup holder. The current art available and in widespread use around the world in ready to eat prepared food product delivery to customers requires that the consumer balance the container, often precariously within the motor vehicle as many try to eat from the container while driving. The containers often spill and cause accidents by causing the operator of the vehicle to try and xe2x80x9csavexe2x80x9d his food before it spills as it slides off the dash or other surface where it may be placed when taking a corner perhaps or stopping abruptly as in traffic. Still other consumers will place the container between their legs to prevent it from sliding and inasmuch as these containers often contain deep-fried foods, such as french fries and chicken pieces, the consumer using the container in this way will often grease stain their garments. There has been a long felt need for such a folding cup design that fits into a cup holder, thus eliminating the afore-mentioned spillages and garment staining.
As the prior art suggests, folding cups are most often made of paperboard, although the current invention may be made of any suitable material. The prior art also discloses that folding cups are generally composed by a single sheet of paperboard material which is then folded to a generally flat envelope with flat sides which expand and open the container to receive a product for use when the edges of the flat sides are squeezed together by the individual usually filling the container or preparing the container to an open manner for pre-filling storage. The folding cup bottom of the prior art is generally too wide to fit into a traditional cup holder including those cup holders used in modern automobiles where these products are often used and their contents consumed. Modern automobile cup holders are placed in a number of locations within these vehicles and are designed such that a driver and passengers alike may securely fit and retrieve cups and/or beverage containers from the holder with ease and safety. The prior art containers that are suitable for storage of fast food items like french fries or chicken pieces provide the necessary top opening width for access to the products with a human hand, however, they provide no means to be securely stored within a designed cup holder. The present invention may be securely placed within a cup holder and yet maintains a feature of having a top opening that is comparable in width to the prior art preserving access to the products in the container by a human hand which feature is not present in the prior art non-collapsible or non-folding round bottom paper cup designs.
The present invention is capable of being practiced in a variety of sizes suitable for the packaging and pricing needs of the vendor. The folding cup design regardless of the volume of the container will still possess a generally circular bottom which may include a polygonal configuration which is capable of being securely fitted in a cup holder such as those found in automobiles.
Unlike the prior art paper cups with circular bottoms the present invention folds to a generally flat condition for ease of compact storage thus minimizing storage and shipping costs while still incorporating the scooping bell mouth feature for ease of loading and access to products contained therein.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims once filed.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting in any way the scope of this invention or claims which will be made in a fill patent application to follow.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions and methods insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers, and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection, the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a folding cup that fits in a cup holder apparatus which has many of the advantages of the folding cup designs mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a folding cup that fits in a cup holder, such as an automobile cup holder, which are not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art folding cup or folding containers, either alone or in any combination thereof.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and novel folding cup that fits in a cup holder which may be easily and efficiently manufactured, taught and marketed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and novel folding cup that fits in a cup holder which is of a durable and reliable construction and method.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and novel folding cup that fits in a cup holder which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such folding cup that fits in a cup holder economically available to the buying public.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new and novel folding cup that fits in a cup holder which provides in the apparatuses and methods of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, while simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associated therewith.
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, will be pointed out with particularity in the claims once the full application is filed. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.